Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a support device for transducers employed in wellhead scanning devices for inspecting oil and gas pipeline.
Description of the Prior Art
It is necessary in oil and gas extraction operations to assess the integrity of the tubing of the well. This is significant to detect defects before a failure occurs in the well. It is customary practice in oil and gas extraction operations to periodically remove the tubing from the well to permit inspection of the well. During these tubing-removal operations, an excellent opportunity is provided to inspect the tubing for defects without requiring additional down-time of the well.
Common practice for this purpose is to remove the tubing from the well, replace it with a newly-inspected tubing and then perform an inspection of the removed tubing by placing it on horizontal racks to support the same during inspection. This of course is a cumbersome and expensive operation requiring not only substitute tubing but in addition necessitating time-consuming and expensive manipulation and placement of the tubing for inspection at a location apart from the wellhead.
Inspection devices customarily used for this purpose embody flux leakage technology. More specifically, a magnetic coil is used to produce a magnetic flux within the wall of the tubing and in the presence of a defect in the form of a discontinuity, distortion of some of the lines of flux and leakage thereof results. This leakage is detected by employing a series of transducers, which provide an electrical signal to suitable display and/or recording devices which may indicate the presence, location and extent of the defect.